Jim and Mary Ann Richards founded the Bend Elks Baseball Club in 1999 with the hope of saving Vince Genna Stadium from demolition. The Elks joined the Pacific International League. Bend continued their affiliation with the league through 2004. In 2005 the Elks along with Bellingham, Kelowna, Spokane, and Wenatchee left the league to form the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCBL).[1]
The Bend Elks went 31-23 in the 2014 WCL season finishing 4 games behind the leading Corvallis Knights and were awarded the first ever WCL wild card spot. Bend was eliminated after the WCL Divisional Series to the rival Corvallis Knights in 2 games. The Elks were Hit by the pitch 72 times and set a WCL record for the most times hit at the plate in one season. The front office of the Bend Elks put 42,030 people through the turnstiles in 31 games at home with 1,356 per game.
In October 2014, John and Tami Marick purchased the Bend Elks Baseball Club from Jim and Mary Ann Richards. The Maricks are founders of Consumer Cellular, a nationwide wireless MVNO based in Tigard, Oregon, with one of its three corporate locations in Central Oregon.[2]
In 2015 the Bend Elks won the WCL championship series.
The Elks are the latest in a long history of semi-pro and minor-league teams to call Central Oregon home.
2022
The Elks are currently tied for second in the south division with the Corvallis Knights with a 22-12 record and .5 games behind the division leading Portland Pickles.[3] Beau Sylvester (UW) leads the league with 33 runs batted in.[4] The Elks have seen 24,957 total fans for an average of 1,387 per game.[5]
2024
Jackson Elder (Utah) was named pitcher of the week on July 9th. Elder threw for seven innings in the Elks' game against the Pippins allowing zero runs and only three hits while also throwing eight strikeouts.[6]
Also on July 9th, Easton Amundson, Mason Edwards, Jackson Elder, and Tyler Wood were selected to represent the Elks in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham.[7]
The Elks made the postseason as a wildcard. This was the Elks' first playoff berth since 2015. The Elks were swept by the Pickles in the Divisional Series 0-2.[8]
